West Lake residents open doors for tour of homes

Guests to Brad and Paige Bertram's home are greeted by oversize Mexican metal-and-glass double front doors.

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"The door makes the house," said Brad Bertram, who spent two years renovating the house.

Those doors will open from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, because the Bertrams' home is one of five stops on West Lake Garden Club's annual Tour of Homes. Tickets cost $15 and include access to four homes and the newly renovated West Lake Country Club.

Proceeds benefit the Columbia County Foundation for Children.

"It goes toward a wonderful organization," said Joy Askin, a garden club member and event organizer.

The Bertram home has been on the tour before, but not since Brad Bertram moved in four years ago when the renovations began.

The previous owner was an artist who painted in all the sinks and had a style different from the sophisticated comfort the four-bedroom home now has.

"The house was pink," Brad Bertram said, with even the outside stucco containing a tinge of pink. "Almost every room in the house was pink except one. The one room that wasn't pink, I decided to paint pink."

That pink room, with green accents and black furniture, now belongs to Brad Bertram's 7-year-old daughter, Carter.

Her twin brother, Collin, enjoys a room decorated with underwater photos taken by his scuba-diving father.

The Bertrams were married in May in the backyard of the stone-and-iron fenced property along Reed Creek.

Brad Bertram gave his new bride freedom to change the newly renovated house to make her feel more at home. But Paige said she hasn't added much more than photographs of the couple's travels.

"We have the same taste and like the same things," she said.

The Bertrams have prepared for the tour by putting up some holiday decorations, including a large Christmas tree in the great room, another in the dining room and more decorations around the fireplace and mantel.

Other homes to be featured on the tour are:

- Wayne and Dana Brown, 618 Brae Burn Drive

- John and Kim Landrum, 579 Medinah Drive

- Doug and Heather Miller, 3814 Shoal Creek Court

"We're very excited. We've got four wonderful homes to be featured, beautiful homes," Askin said.

"Our fifth is going to be the newly renovated West Lake Country Club, which we are excited to share," Askin said. "We're very proud of it, and we'd love to share it with everyone."

Tickets and maps are available at the Stevens Creek Road and Furys Ferry Road entrances and at each stop on the tour the day of the event.

Tickets and maps also are available at Tudor's Cleaners, Weinberger's Furniture and Mattress Showplace, Renaissance Fine Furnishings, Sheer Southern Salon and Day Spa, Persnipity Hair Salon, Linda Nails and Classic Nails.